Facts in Education Panel of Canadian Experts in Education

Sue Ferguson, Coordinator, The Learning Consortium, Ontario Institute of Studies in Education
 

Sue Ferguson currently coordinates educational projects with OISE and the Directors of four GTA Boards of Education - TDSB, TCDSB, Peel and York Region. Previous to this position, she was the Central Coordinating Principal with responsibility for Secondary School Program and Instruction in the Toronto District School Board. Sue also works as a consultant to George Brown College and delivers sessions on instructional leadership for the Ontario Principals' Council to experienced principals across the province.
 

Michael Fullan, Special Policy Adviser in Education to the Premier of Ontario
 

Michael Fullan is Professor Emeritus of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. Recognized as a worldwide authority on educational reform, Michael is engaged in training, consulting, and evaluating change projects around the world and his books have been published in many languages. His book, Leading in a Culture of Change was awarded the 2002 Book of the Year Award by the National Staff Development Council and Breakthrough (with Peter Hill and Carmel Crévola) won the 2006 Book of the Year Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. More recently, Fullan has authored, The Six Secrets of Change (2008), Realization (with Lyn Sharratt, 2009), Turnaround Leadership in Higher Education (with Geoff Scott, 2009 winner of the Bellweather book of the year award), Change wars (edited with Andy Hargreaves, 2009 National Staff Development Council book of the year award), Motion Leadership (2010), and All Systems Go (2010).

Jane Gaskell, Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto 

Jane Gaskell is a professor in the Department of Theory and Policy Studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. She served as Dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education from 2003 until 2010, and before that as Associate Dean and Department Head in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia (1988-2001). She has also been president of the Canadian Society for Studies in Education, and a member of the board, and chair of several committees, at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Her academic work is in the field of sociology of education. She has written books and articles on secondary schools in Canada, school board politics, the impact of poverty, diversity and gender on school performance, and the links between school and work.

Kathleen Gallagher, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Kathleen Gallagher is a Professor, Canada Research Chair, and the Academic Director of the Centre for Urban Schooling at the University of Toronto. Dr. Gallagher has published many articles on urban youth, school contexts, theatre, pedagogy, and gender, and travels widely giving international addresses and workshops for practitioners. Her research continues to focus on questions of engagement and artistic practice in urban contexts, as well as the pedagogical and methodological possibilities of theatre.
 

Avis Glaze, President, Edu-quest International Inc.
 

Dr. Avis Glaze in an international educator who has worked at all levels of the Ontario educational system - in public and Catholic schools and in rural and urban Ontario. She is known for her many innovations in education in areas such as leadership development, equity, diversity and inclusive education, student engagement, character development, improving student achievement, organisational effectiveness and the teaching of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills for leaders ship effectiveness. She is the Founding CEO of the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat which continues to play a key role in the Ontario improvement strategy.

Sue Herbert, former Ontario Deputy Minister of Education
 

Suzanne Herbert has had a long career in public service, and was a Deputy Minister in the Ontario Government for over a dozen years, serving as the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Community and Social Services. She served on Queen’s School of Policy Studies Advisory Committee and represented Canada on the OECD’s Education Directorate for several years. Suzanne has an abiding interest in social and economic policy development and the interface between research, politics, policy formulation and program implementation. Now retired, Suzanne lectures, offers consultancy services on a part time basis and serves on the Board of several organizations.

Ken Leithwood, Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Dr. Leithwood is Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at OISE/University of Toronto. His research and writing concerns school leadership, educational policy and organizational change. Dr. Leithwood has published more than 80 referred journal articles, and authored or edited more than three dozen books. Among his recent research projects was a large, five-year, Wallace Foundation study, with colleagues, aimed at determining how state, district and school-level leadership influences
student learning. Dr. Leithwood is the recent recipient of the University of Toronto’s Impact on Public Policy award and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Ben Levin, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Dr. Levin is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Education Leadership and Policy. In addition to his academic work as a researcher, author and teacher, he has served as Deputy Minister of Education in Manitoba (1999-2002) and in Ontario (20040-07 and gain in 2009). More about Ben's work is on his home page home.oise.utoronto.ca/~blevin.

Penny Milton, CEO Canadian Education Association
 

Penny Milton was the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Education Association from 1996 - 2010. She was Chair of the Toronto Board of Education, Executive Assistant for the Federation of Women Teachers’ Association of Ontario, Executive Director of the Ontario Public School Board Association and served as Deputy Minister of the Ontario Premier’s Council of Health, Well-being and Social Justice. Before joining CEA, Ms. Milton was Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs for ORTECH Corp. She has held several public appointments including current membership on The Minister’s Curriculum Council and Governance Review Committee for Ontario.
  

Charles E. Pascal, Professor, University of Toronto, Former Ontario Deputy Minister of Education
 

Charles E. Pascal is the Executive Director of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation that promotes social and economic justice through its granting programs, and author of, With Our Best Future in Mind: Implementing Early Learning in Ontario. Pascal has a strong background in education, leadership and organizational development. He has been President of Sir Sandford Fleming College, Chair of the Council of Regents for Ontario’s colleges, and has also held deputy ministerial posts with the Government of Ontario, including the Premier’s Council on Health, Community and Social Services, and Education and Training. Pascal has also held professorial and administrative positions at the University of Toronto and OISE since 1977. Prior to this he was a faculty member with the Department of Psychology at McGill University.
 

Jim Slotta, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Jim Slotta is an associate level professor of education in the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at The University of Toronto. He holds the Canada Research Chair in education and technology and co-directs the NSF-funded center called Technology-Enhanced Learning in Science (TELS). His research employs technology-enhanced learning environments to investigate cognitive models of learning and instruction. He also promotes the development of open source materials for the learning sciences, and led the development of the Scalable Architecture for Interactive Learning (SAIL). Slotta and his team are currently developing an open source technology framework for smart classroom research called SAIL Smart Space, which will support investigations of a new pedagogical model for knowledge communities and inquiry.

Charles Ungerleider, Professor, Sociology of Education, The University of British Columbia
 

Charles Ungerleider has written about a range of topics in education from assessment to xenophobia. He is author of Failing Our Kids: How we are ruining our public schools, a critical examination of the state of public schooling in Canada, and numerous publications in scholarly, professional and popular media. From November 1998 until June 2001, Ungerleider served as Deputy Minister of Education for the Province of British Columbia, and, prior to assuming responsibility as Deputy Minister, was Associate Dean for teacher education (1993-1998) in the Faculty of Education at The University of British Columbia.